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Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Sewing, Tagging and a Tip

This is a week where I'm feelin' the urge to sew! Is it spring in the air? It is just a mood? All I know is, I want to sew, and I'm goin' with it.

My "obligation" sewing is out of the way first. Here are my March blocks for the Blogger's BOM. This is month seven, so I've got 14 of these 8-1/2" blocks under my belt.

Strawberry Fizz and Lime Pop blocks

Here's a peek at what I'll be wearing Easter Sunday morning, at the sunrise service. Our choir is singing at 6:45 a.m. worship! I made a new skirt with those two Anthology prints. I'm pretty pleased with my shopping efforts to make it a complete ensemble.

My Blog is a Liebster Blog!
My *FAB Leanne who blogs at Daisy and Jack -she's Daisy - gave me the Liebster Blog award. I had to look up the German word "liebster" to learn it means sweetheart, beloved person, or darling! It's been a long time since I've been associated with such terms, even if it's just through my blog! (In case you didn't know... *FAB means Friend After Blogging.)

The Liebster Award rules are:

Post about your win on your blog You're reading it!

Link back to the blogger who presented you with the award

Thanks Leanne! I'm so glad we met through our blogs. You are a great encourager and a good influence on my attempts at modern quilting with the many bee blocks you make. They're always beautiful. I have a fondness for the pictures you post of kangaroos near your house.

Copy and paste the award to your blog There it is, in the right-hand menu.

Present the Liebster Award to five blogs with less than 200 followers that you think deserve to be recognized.

Let them know by leaving a comment on their blog

Di at SnippetsnScrapsis just about the best blog-writer I've ever come across. She should be paid for it! She writes with a delicious sense of humor. It's also notable that she often writes about what her friends are making. If Di's your friend, you are blessed!

Kerry at ALittleStitching has the neatest quilt projects going. Oddly enough, we seem to be working on similar UFOs, so we have a great bond there. How remarkable is it that we can be friends when we're on opposite sides of the world?

Karen at NanaGirlQuilts machine and hand quilts with great skill. She just received a ribbon for a gorgeous log cabin quilt. She's also a lovely person. I'm hoping that one day Karen and I will meet in person, right there in Florida!

Maylene at QisforQuilt is always working on something that I want to make too! How does she do that?! Maylene goes to Kansas City every now and again, and in all my visits to KC, we've managed to miss each other - one time, only by one day! I am sure hoping it will work out one of these times.

Elyte at TeaFabricandOtherThings has just the prettiest name, doesn't she? But she's more than just a pretty name. She's a traditional quilter, who does a lot of embroidery too. I always enjoy seeing her latest fabric purchases, where she goes on retreats, and the many projects she keeps up with.

Now, Let's Play Tag!I've been tagged. As in the game. "You're it!" Thankfully this version isn't physical - I'm not running anywhere these days! - but still involves some chasing around to come up with answers! Carla gave me these questions:

1. Morning person or night person? Morning. Though it doesn't happen all the time, I like getting up before dawn. You can get a lot done when your day begins before 6 a.m.

2. Do you save the selvages on fabric? If so, have you ever made anything with them? Sure do save them, and sure do use them! I've made several items: travel bag, purse and a pillow. I'm saving now to make a big quilt.

3. Which color of fabric is most prominent in your stash? Hands down, green.

4. What is the smallest scrap that you save? 1-1/2" X 1-1/2" I'm using them for a leaders-and-enders quilt.

5. What food do you crave? Popcorn. Made in a Whirley-Pop stovetop corn popper. With butter. Without butter. Sprinkled with salt. Occasionally sprinkled with brewer's yeast. I can eat popcorn seven nights a week, and sometimes it's even called "dinner."

6. How often do you change your sewing machine needle? Oops! Time to do that again.

7. Pre-wash or right off the bolt? Pre-wash. Fabs don't go into the sewing area until it is. Washed.

8. What quilting project are you most proud of?Snowflake Medallion, finished in 2011. It will be in the Machine Quilter's Showcase in Overland Park, Kansas, May 16-19.

9. How many hours a day do you spend reading blogs? One to two hours? Maybe.

10. What's your favorite music to sew by? None. I never listen to music. If I need to focus on the task at hand, the TV is background noise. But when the work is mindless, I'm an audiobook gal.

Where is one place in the world you haven't yet visited, but would like to?

What's your favorite quiltmaking gadget?

How often do you oil your sewing machine?

What's your favorite perfume?

Machine-piecing/applique or hand-piecing/applique?

What's your favorite dessert?

Who's your favorite author?

What quilting technique would you like to learn more about?

What dish do you cook/bake that is considered your best?

Machine-sewn binding or hand-sewn binding?

A Tip
Since my fabric preferences are leaning more toward modern quilting, I've been collecting a nice stash of solids. But, I haven't been doing a very good job of keeping track of which colors I have! Just a good assortment of Bella, and Kona seen in the photo. Without a color card, I was at a loss until Tammy showed me how to keep track with these labeled swatches.

Use an extra fine-tipped Sharpie to write along the selvage, then safety-pin the swatches together. I still have a few more, unnamed Kona colors to track down.

Now I'm off to play in my sewing area. I have some ideas rolling around in my head - no, they aren't marbles - that need to be tested with fabric. Have a blessed Holy Week. Linda

Thanks for passing the award to me, Linda. Lovely idea. I had a look at the other Blog's you awarded, and there on Elyte's blog was a picture of a very good friend of mine. What a small world- all the way to Melbourne, Australia.Great tip about labelling the solids, will be doing exactly that tomorrow!